ferment

[fur-ment, fer-ment]

noun

1. Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.

2. Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.

3. fermentation.

4. agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult.

   The new painters worked in a creative ferment.

   The capital lived in a political ferment.

verb (used with object)

1. to act upon as a ferment.

2. to cause to undergo fermentation.

3. to inflame; foment.

   to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.

4. to cause agitation or excitement in.

   Reading fermented his active imagination.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fermented; undergo fermentation.

2. to seethe with agitation or excitement.

ferment

noun

1. any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation

2. another word for fermentation

3. commotion; unrest

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation

2. to stir up or seethe with excitement

Other Word Forms

• fermentable adjective
• fermentability noun
• fermenter noun
• nonfermentability noun
• nonfermentable adjective
• nonfermented adjective
• nonfermenting adjective
• unfermentable adjective
• unfermented adjective
• unfermenting adjective
• well-fermented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin fermentum “yeast” (noun), fermentāre “to cause to rise” (verb), equivalent to fer(vēre) “to boil” + -mentum -ment ( def. ); fervent

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

C15: from Latin fermentum yeast, from fervēre to seethe

Example Sentences

If it read enough poetry, eventually it would figure out that “sweet” and “sour” have related meanings—that their vectors are both in the “taste” cluster in vector space—while “because” and “fermented” do not.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They say this is evidence humans may have got our taste for alcohol from common primate ancestors who relied on fermented fruit - a source of sugar and alcohol - for food.

Read more on BBC

Kimchi or preserved lemons add a fermented depth that dances with melted cheese and meat.

Read more on Salon

The line between fandom and fermenting cultures blurs, and soon, it seems, a new kind of devotion might take shape: obsessive, meticulous, generous, communal.

Read more on Salon

“They are usually fermented a little more naturally. They have a lighter flavor — almost a little effervescence too,” she explained.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• commotion 
• disquiet 
• excitement 
• frenzy 
• restlessness 
• tumult 
• turbulence 
• unrest 
• upheaval 
• uproar